South China Sea

In both the East China and South China seas, China

and its neighbours claim assorted atolls and islands
that sit astride vast undersea oil and gas reserves. The
waters of both have been sites of recurring naval
clashes over the past few years, with the South China
Sea recently grabbing the spotlight
An energy-rich offshoot of the western Pacic, that
sea, long a focus of contention, is rimmed by China,
Vietnam, the island of Borneo and the Philippine islands
To view the Chinese drive in the South China Sea as a
simple matter of nationalistic impulses would be a
mistake. The owner of HD-981, the China National
Offshore Oil Company, has conducted extensive seismic
testing in the disputed area and evidently believes there
is a large reservoir of energy there
Iraq and Syria
clash among Sunnis,
Shiites, Kurds,
Turkmen, and others
Nigeria clash
among Muslims,
Christians and
various tribal
groupings
South Sudan clash
between the Dinka
and Nuer peoples
Ukraine clash
between Ukrainian
loyalists and
Russian-speakers
aligned with Moscow
East and South
China Sea clash
between Chinese,
Japanese,
Vietnamese,
Filipinos, and
others
Russia
Fuelled by age-old hatred but also a most modern impulse: the desire to control
valuable oil and natural gas assets. Here are the details behind the clashes to
understand why these countries are in dispute
Iraq, Syria and the
Islamic State
The Islamic State, formerly
known as Isis or Isil, the
Sunni extremist group that
controls large chunks of
western Syria and northern
Iraq, is intent on creating an
Islamic caliphate in the areas
it controls. Oil is absolutely
essential to the organisations
grand strategy
Ukraine, Crimea and
Russia
Ukraine is a major transit route
for the delivery of Russian
natural gas to Europe
Europe obtained 30% of its gas
from Russia in 2013 most of it
from the state-controlled gas
giant Gazprom and approxi-
mately half of this was trans-
ported by pipelines crossing
Ukraine
Disputes over the price
Ukraine pays for its own imports
of Russian gas twice provoked a
cutoff in deliveries by Gazprom,
leading to diminished supplies in
Europe as well
Nigeria
In Nigeria, the insurgent
group Boko Haram is ghting to
overthrow the existing political
system and establish a
puritanical, Muslim-ruled state.
Nigeria is the largest oil
producer in Africa, pumping out
some 2.5 million barrels per
day. With oil selling at around
$100 per barrel, this represents
a potentially staggering source
of wealth for the nation, but
much of the money disappears
into the pockets (and foreign
bank accounts) of Nigerias
well-connected elites
South Sudan
The conict in South Sudan has different
roots, but shares a common link to energy. A
civil war in Sudan that lasted from 1955 to
1972 only ended when the Muslim-dominated
government in the north agreed to grant
more autonomy to the peoples of the
southern part of the country. When oil was
discovered in the south, the rulers of
northern Sudan repudiated many of their
earlier promises and sought to gain control
over the oilelds, sparking a second civil war,
which lasted from 1983 to 2005. Following a
January 2011 referendum in which 98.8% of
southerners voted to secede, the country
became independent on July 9 that year.
While South Sudan has sizeable oil reserves,
the only pipeline allowing the country to
export its energy stretches across North
Sudan to the Red Sea
Governments that derive
the great bulk of their
revenue from oil sales:
Iraq, Nigeria, Russia,
South Sudan and Syria
Clashes between groups
Why these clashes are
actually about oil
Graphics24
The
battles
for energy